Chemistry, Ph.D., Geology Concentration

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The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Chemistry with a concentration in Geology is offered in collaboration with the Department of Chemistry. This program culminates in a dissertation containing the results of distinctive and original research scholarship carried out by the candidate. The dissertation must be defended publicly and judged to be a significant contribution in the advancement of science. PhD students are supported by external funding from competitive grants awarded to faculty in the Geosciences Department. This degree represents a collaborative agreement with the Chemistry Department at GSU, and is therefore primarily conceived as a program from students with a strong interest in chemistry-centric sub-disciplines of Geology (e.g. biogeochemistry or inorganic geochemistry).

Degree Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Chemistry with a concentration in Geology is offered in collaboration with the Department of Chemistry. At least 80 hours of graduate credit are required for the Ph.D. degree. In order to satisfy the minimum requirements for the degree, students must complete successfully:

Thirty hours of approved graduate core coursework
A minimum of forty hours of research, at least 20 hours of which must be Dissertation Research
Ten additional hours of graduate course electives
Satisfaction of the world language (or research skill) requirement
A written and oral qualifying general examination
A dissertation
A final oral examination directed primarily to the defense of the dissertation

Specific requirements: In the list of requirements that follows, the minimum number of credit hours required in each category is indicated and the courses that can be taken to fulfill these requirements are listed in parentheses. Credit will be given only for those Geology courses in which the student receives a grade of B or higher. Category C may be used as the minor area of specialization if approved by the examination committee. Substitutions may be made by the graduate director in Category C with written approval of the Department of Geosciences.

Concentration Requirements

Core Courses: Geology (11 Hours)

To be selected from

GEOS 6003 - Principles and Applications of Environmental Geochemistry 3 Credit Hours
GEOS 8001 - Nanominerals in Geochemical Environments 4 Credit Hours
GEOS 8010 - Seminar in Urban-Economic Geography 3 Credit Hours or other approved substitutes

Minor Area Electives (13 Hours)

To be selected from:

GEOS 6004 - Advanced Environmental Geochemistry 3 Credit Hours
GEOS 6006 - Sedimentary Environments and Stratigraphy 4 Credit Hours
GEOS 6009 - Applications of Chemical Tracers in Hydrology 3 Credit Hours

Interdisciplinary Elective (6 Hours)

To be selected from Chemistry or Biology or approved substitutes

Special Topics, Electives and Seminar: (10 Hours)

To be selected from

GEOS 6008 - Rock Fracture and Fluid Flow 3 Credit Hours
GEOS 6095 - Colloquium in the Geosciences 1 Credit Hours
GEOS 6097 - Topics in Geographical Sciences 1 to 3 Credit Hours
GEOS 6640 - Geomorphology 3 Credit Hours
GEOS 6650 - Surface Water Hydrology 3 Credit Hours
BIOL 6458 - Microbial Ecology and Metabolism 4 Credit Hours
CHEM 6600 - Biochemistry I 5 Credit Hours
CHEM 6610 - Biochemistry II 3 Credit Hours
CHEM 6490 - Special Topics in Organic Chemistry 3 Credit Hours or other approved substitutes

Research (At Least 40 Hours)

To be selected from (a minimum of 20 hours are selected from GEOS 9999)

GEOS 8097 - Directed Study in Geology 1 to 15 Credit Hours
or
GEOS 9999 - Dissertation Research 1 to 15 Credit Hours

World Language/Research Skill Requirement

A reading proficiency in one world language is required. An equivalent research skill such as computer language, technical writing, advanced statistics, electronics, etc. may be substituted for the world language (departmental approval required). The world language requirement satisfied for a student’s M.S. degree can satisfy the PhD world language requirement. Note: credit hours used to fulfill the language requirement do not count in the 80 hours.

Graduate Assistants

Graduate assistants are required to enroll for a minimum of 12 credit hours each for the fall/spring semesters and 9 credit hours for the summer semester. These credit hours will consist of courses required for the prescribed program of study, as well as additional hours of GEOS 8999, GEOS 8989 (offered as GEOS 8065 in fall 2021) and GEOS 6099 (offered as GEOS 8060 in fall 2021) .